Mold for concrete posts.



L. A. PRATT. MOLD'FOR CONCRETE POSTS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2, 1905.

PATENTED MAY 29, 1906 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

X's. a.

i J WJTNESSESV:

PATENTED MAY 29, 1906.

L. A.IPRATT. MOLD FOR CONCRETE POSTS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

6m fuzz. INVENTOR W. ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT men.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 29, 1906.

Application filed December 2, 1905. Serial No- 289,988.

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lnvnnn'rr A. PRATT, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Bay City, in the county of Bay and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Molds for Concrete Posts; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descri tion of the invention, such as will enable ot ers skilled in the impose any lateral strain on the article during the molding process.

Another ob 'ect of my invention is the provision of a mold which can be easily and quickly released from the article being molded without injury to the article. i

Still, further objects are the provision of a mold which reatly cheapens the cost of manufacture of t e articles molded, as well as occupying but little space and ca able of being handled with e'ase and despatcii. I

Another object of the invention is the provision of a mold the construction of which is such as to'eliminate the unsightly seams so often found in molded articles.

To these ends my invention consists of a mold whichin the present instance-is adapted to automatically release itself from the article being molded whenthe mold is unlocked. My invention also contemplates means for suspending the core in an upright or vertical osltion and so arran ing the flask that it will be suspended from t e core'while the material is being put into the flask. Therefore the core durln the process of filling. supports the flask and t e liquid cement or other plastic material; When the cement has set, the flask is removed, leaving the green post suspended by means of the core. In this condition the post remains until it is thoroughly seasoned. '1 thereby. avoid the necessity of handling the post at any time during the process of molding and seasoning, and by this means I avoid all liability of breakage, which has heretofore been a serious detriment to the manufacture of cementposts, it having been customary to take the osts from the flasks before they are thoroug ly seasoned and lay them out honizoutally on pallets or tablets to complete the seasonin process. Such handling necessarily involved considerable loss through breakage.

My invention further consists in certain other novel features and combinations of arts or their equivalents, which will be more lly described hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view showing the mold in closed position. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the mold in its open position. Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 are view showing the manner of connecting the core and mold, whereby the latter is supported. Fig. 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view showing the manner of connecting the core and mold. Fig. 7 is a detail view in cross-section of a' portion of the mold. Figs.

plan, respectively, showing the sectional cap. Fig. 10 is a view, partly broken away, showing a means for embedding a socket in the molded article; .Fig. 11 is a view showing the means for forming notches in the post or molded article. Fig. 12 is a detail view of front and side views, respectively, of a lock: ing means, such as a latch, for retaining the mold in closed position. Fig. 5 is a detail 8 and 9 are detail views in section and top the lug, and Fig. 13 is a side view of the core.

In that embodiment of my invention herein illustrated, .Wl'llCh discloses oneof a'number of constructions 1n which my invention may be incorporated, A indicates the body I of the mold, which may be cylindrical. or taered, as preferred, and is divided or slotted fbngitudinally of its length, as shown in Fi 2. When the tapered flask or mold, which is my preferred construction, is used, the material as it is poured mat the top tamps itself and forms a solid coherent mass, the greater The material of which the mold is composed is preferably resilientthat is to say, the longitudinal edges of the mold are normally located apart from each other, and when the edges are brought together their tendency is to s ring apart, thus forming an expansible mo (1 capable of contraction. Furthermore, this mold is one-part, as 6" weight being at the upper larger end of the flas tinguished from a two-part mold, whereby a much neater article is reduced and the objectionable scams avoidbd.

The opposing longitudinal edges of the mold may be conveniently outturned to form the flanges 1 1, to the outer faces of which flanges are preferably secured the angleirons 2 3,for the purpose of strengthenin the mold and. imparting sufficient rigidity t v ereto. It is desir lle to provide the inner face of one of the flanges 1 with a filling-pieceas, for instance, a longitudinally-extending strip 4, the flange preferably being held between the strip and the angle-iron 3. The inner face of the opposite flange preferably has secured thereto a channel-iron 5 or other suitable member adapted to receive the strip 4, for a purpose hereinafter set forth, said channel-iron having its inner rib 5 rovided with grooves or recesses 6 6, whic in the present instance are shown as being convergent, though this is not at all necessary, the. grooves adapted to receive projections from the core in the present instance, the loops hereinafter referred to and being of equal or greater depth than the cross-sectional area of the material of which the loops are formed.

The mold is adapted to receive a suitable core of any convenient construction, that shown comprising a strengthening member 7, provided with longitudinally-extending crimped strips 8, spaced apart from and extendlng approximately parallel with the strengthenlng member, one of said strips being conveniently provided with laterally-proj ecting loops 9 9, theloops adapted to-be received in the chamber formed by the channel-iron and lie within the groovesor recesses. 6 6. One end of the core, preferably the upper thicker end, is provided with a 100 16,

. which may be conveniently supported y a V alent structure.

hook 11, traveling on a rail 12 or other equiv-' A cap 13, of a shape conforming to the cross-sectional area-of the is pivotally secured to the angle-iron 3, for instance... A thumb-piece 16 extends for- .mold when closed or contracted, is. provided for the opposite lower endof the mold, such cap .being of any suitable con'struction'and adapted to prevent the'escape of the plastic material introduced into-the mold from the upper end. 1

As one means for retaining the mold in closed orcontracted position I provide the latches 14 14, each of which conslsts of a rectangular body portion, one longitudinal face of which is provided with a wedge-shaped groove, the widest portion of the oove 14* being at the heel of the latch, w ere it will first engage the opposing flanges of the mold. A tailp1ece 15 projects rearwardly from one side face of theheel'of the body portion and wardlyfrom the top face of the toe of'the body portion, said thumb-piece being curved upwardly tofacilitate the actuation of the latch.-

' In operation the mold being in its open position receives the core, the loops 9 9 of which are placed in the grooves 6 6 in the manner shown in Fig. 5. The cap is then applied to one'end of the mold, as shown in Fig. 8, and the mold is closed by springing the opposite walls of the slot together,where by the filling-piece 4 is received in the chamber of the channel-iron 5 and lies against the loops 9 9 to hold the latter in their grooves 6 6, the grooved edge of the channel-iron tightly fitting against the opposite wall or flange 1 to prevent the escape of plastic material into the channel of the channel-iron. When the longitudinal edges of the mold are snugly together, as shown in Fig. 6, the latches are swung into position, the widest portion of the groove at the heel of each latch article when completed, and, furthermore,

the core is thereby firmly clamped to the mold to afford a support for the latter. The mold may now be suspended by means of the loop 10, carried by'the core, and the plastic material is introduced into the mold in any suitable manner, the cap 13 at the lower endpreventing the escapeof the plastic material and permitting it to settle-firmly around the core. T hemold is retained in suspended position until the material has become properly set,- whereupon the latches may be swung outwardl torelease the opposing edges jof the mo (1' and permit the latter to automatically release itself from the article being molded bymeans of the inherent resiliency of the mold which isnow in readiness.

to be used in forming another article of the same character; When the mold is released, tne plug ol'icapat the bottom of course drops out, since it is only clamped therein by being gripped by the lower end of theilask. The

molded article may remain suspended from the hook 11 b means of which it is conveyed to an suitab e place and left to become seasone and hence the handling of the seasoned article is avoided nor is the use of pallets or tablets required. The interior of the mold prior togthe introduction of the plastic material may be coated with any suitable substance whereby to prevent the material from adhering to the interior of the mold.

It is also possible to remove the channel-iron.-

5 and substitute another having its grooves 6 6 spaced farther from or nearer to each other,,if desired, the channel-irons being reinovably secured to the flask.

In Figs. 8 and 9 is shown one means for enabling an eyebolt, staple, or-other projection to be molded into the top of the article, and toeffect this I preferably make the cap 13 of at least two sections, the meeting edges of the sections being corres ondingly recessed to form an aperture, t ough which aperture extends the bolt 20. When the' posts are to be used as gate-posts or to be supplied with means for securing any form of fasteningsuch as hinges, hooks, or staplesthereto, it is desirable to p'rovide'means for readily attaching such a fastening to the post. As one form' of such means I have illustrated in Fig. a socket which is' preferably secured to the core before the post is molded.

and is embedded inthe post, the end of the socket, which is preferably provided with screw-threads to receive the screw-bolt,-being flush with the outer race of the post.- This socket is preferably, but not necessarily, made-in the form shown in Fig. 10, inwhich 21 is the base of the socket, which may be secured,bymeans of screws or otherwise, to the side of the core 7, and 21 is a hollow boss extending radially from the base to the outer shell of the mold. The boss is internally threaded to receive the screw-bolt'22 or other appliance which it is desired to fasten to the post. Sometimes'it is desirable to form a notch or shoulder in the molded article to receive the ends of braces, and as one of a number of means for attaining this result I have from the spirit and scope of my invention,

and hence I do not desire to limit myself to the construction herein set forth.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new isv 1. A flask comprising a one-part integrallyformed mold-body slotted longitudinally of itself, the walls of the slot being flanged outwardly and normally tending to lie apart from each other, and reinforcing members carried by the flanged walls.

2. A flask comprising a one-part integrallyformed mold-body slotted longitudinally of itself,'the walls of the slot being flanged outwardly and normally tending to he apart from each other, and reinforcing members carried by the flanged walls, one of the members provided with slots formed therein to receive projections from the core.

' 3. A flask comprising a one-part integrally- -forcing members formed mold-body slotted longitudinally of itself, the walls of the slot being flanged outwardly and normally tending to lie apart from each other, andreinforcing members carried by the flan ed walls, one of said reineing. grooved to receive the op osite reinforcing member.

4. A flask comprising a one-part integrallyformed mold-body itself, the walls of the slot being flanged outwardly and. normally tending 'to lie' apart from each other, and reinforcing members carried by the flan ed walls, one ofsaid reinforcing members eing grooved to receive the opposite reinforcing member, vand provided withrecesses to receive projections on the article being molded, the opposite rein- .forcingm'ember adapted to engage said projections. Y

5. The'combination with a core ca able of suspension. at its upper end, of a mol adapted to inclose the .core'and means carried by the core and en aged by the mold for sup:

porting the mo d.

6. A flask comprising a slotted mold-body,

the walls of the slot pro ecting outwardly and ada ted to lieadjacent each other, and late es ivoted at one end to oneof the walls slotted longitudinally of of the s ot; the latches each provided with a wedge-shaped groove, the widest portion'of whiplh is' nearest the pivotal point of the late 7 7. A flask comprising a longitudinallyslotted mold-body, a core received therein,

projections carried by the core, a reinforcing member removably secured to one wall of the" slot and provided with recesses set a prede termined distance apart to receive the projections of the core.

8.. The combination with a suitable core, and projections therefrom, of a longitudinally-slotted mold, a channel-iron carried by one wall of'the slot, the inner rib of such iron.

being recessed to receive the projections, a fillin -piece carried by the opposite wall of the s ot, and. receivable withm the channeliron to engage the projections and means for retaining the walls of the slot to ether.

9. The combination with a flas k having an o en'in at one end, and a core receivable in t e flas of a cap for one end of the flask, the cap comprising a plurality of sections, the meeting edges of the sections being correspondingly recessed and a projection permanently carried bythe core and extending into the aperture formed .by the registering recesses when the sections of the cap are as sembled.

10. The combination with an expansible.

flask, of a projecting membei' removably secured to the inner face'and of less length than the flask to leave a brace-receiving recess in the article molded.

11. Aflask comprising a mold-body formed of resilient material and longitudinally slotted, the walls of the slot normally tending at core for permitting the suspension of the core and mold-body and a two-part cap for closing one end of the mold-body, the cap being grasped by the mold-body whenin contracted position, and adapted to drop away from the molded article when themold-body expands to its normal position.

12. The combination with a flask and a core receivable therein, of a member having a socket extending in a plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of the flask, said member mounted on the core and projecting therefrom, the outer open end of the socket member adapted to engage and be closed by the inner surface of the flask, when the latter is in closed position-to prevent the access of the plastic material to the socket.

13. The combination with a flask and a core received therein, of a member carried by and projecting from the core in a lane trans- Verse to the longitudinal axis of t e core, the outer end of the member abutting and engaging the inner face of the flask to prevent access thereto of the material of which the article molded is composed, the member also being contained entirely within the contour of the article molded.

In testimony whereof I aflixmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEVERETT PRATT.

Witnesses:

MORRIS L. COURTRIGHT, M. LETITIA SHANNON. 

